What is love?

Adventuresome are you? Well I guess I have been pondering what love is (and what is not) for a while now, and I thought I would post some of my reflection on it. I will steal a little bit from the Bible, not because it is central to my life these days, but instead because I feel it is a good starting point for a definition and anti-definition.

"Love is long-suffering and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, does not get puffed up, does not behave indecently, does not look for its own interests, does not become prevoked. It does not keep account of the injury. It does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." -- 1 Cor. 13:4-7

Okay, after looking that up and typing it in, it isn't everything I remember. But it does have some parts that I definately feel is true about love. Long-suffering, kind, not jealous, doesn't become prevoked, does not keep account of injury, rejoices in truth, bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things. Those all ring exceedingly true in my definition as well. One thing regarding love that I do not believe is adequately captured is that loving someone creates an intense desire to make that person happy. Their happiness contributes greatly to your happiness as well.

My friends being happy also makes me happy. So, what is it that turns friendship into love?!? Oh such a difficult question! Desire has a big part of it, I'm pretty sure of that. Desire without the friendship definately isn't love and is instead only lust. Of course, it isn't just passing friendship either, it has to be a friend that will tell it like it is to you. For that, there has to be a lot of two-way trust in knowing that the other person is as just concerned for you as you should be about yourself. That deep level of a friendship, tied with desire for them... I think that is the blossom of love.

People say they may have several loves in their lifetimes, others say they have only one. This does puzzle me. Normally, looking at the other life on Earth, an entire species generally chooses one mate for their lifetime, or many to procreate with. Strange that some humans have only one love, and others have two, three, or more loves in their lives. I have to think that the desire has to be based on the qualities of the other person that we find so attractive that we just feel offspring with them would be just as good or better than either of you alone. So is love simply a way to figure out who we should have kids with?

If that is all that love is, then why all the extra feelings and needs attached with it? Why do simple things a loved one says or does bring happiness to us? Should the only happiness be from making love and procreating if that is the base reason for love in the first place? More questions that I can't answer. Great. :)

Well, okay, so I guess I reflected a little bit, but the fact of the matter is I have no idea what love is! I do know however that I feel love deep inside of me for my family, my close friends, and a special love for the person that I would like to spend the rest of my life with. So I have to believe that is good enough and I don't have to fully understant to experience it. There are so many other things that I do not understand that keep me alive already... I'll just live with it!